Lost in Shangri-la

A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II

In 1945, a sightseeing trip over "Shangri-La" turned deadly when the plane crashed, leaving only three survivors who, battling for their survival, were caught between man-eating headhunters and the enemy Japanese, in this real-life adventure drawn from personal interviews, declassified Army documents and personal photos and mementos.

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Both a great survival/rescue story and a fascinating look at Americans trying to communicate with a secluded tribe during World War II. It's hard to put down.

On a Sunday afternoon near the end of World War II, a plane load of American GIs and WACs flew on a sight-seeing trip over a secluded jungle valley in the mountains of New Guinea. They were hoping to see the homes of a group of unknown tribes, a true “lost civilization.” Instead, the plane crashed into the side of a mountain, with only three survivors: an officer whose twin brother had died in the crash, a soldier with a severe head wound, and a badly burned WAC. This is the fascinating true story of their meeting with the native tribes and their amazing rescue by paratroopers and the Air Force. Told from diaries, interviews with one of the survivors, and even interviews with several of the natives who were there, which gives it a depth that might not otherwise be true. Excellent research and writing both.

As World War II drew to a close, an American flyer spotted a valley wedged high in the inaccessible mountains of New Guinea. Not on any maps, flyovers showed a significant population of aboriginals who had, apparently, never encountered the modern world. A journalist fan of Lost Horizons, dubbed the valley "Shangri-la" with unconscious irony; the culture of the valley focused on endless wars.

Of course there was widespread curiosity about the valley and on a flight to take a look at this 'eden,' a plane disappeared into the jungle canopy. The ensuing tale of survival, injury, first encounters, and crazy rescue make for a tense read tinged with tragedy.

Lost in Shangri-La by Mitchell Zuckoff
Read by: Anna/Copley Teen Room
Originally posted to the BPL Teen Blog on 8/22/2012.

This is the story of a sight-seeing army plane that was taking several soldiers and Women in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) over a newly discovered vally in Dutch New Guinea in May of 1945 near the end of World War II. This was uncharted territory, and very hard to fly through because of sharp winds, lots of clouds, and very high mountains that appeared out of nowhere like monsters. The plane crashed, essentially in the middle of nowhere, and only three people survived. But life was not easy for them. They were undercover of a dense forest, where no search plane could see them, and two of the survivors were severely wounded, most of their skin burned off and disease setting in. They were forced to hike to a clearing, and to face the natives, whom it was thought at the time, were cannibals. No one in the Army knew how to get them out of their location. Planes couldn’t fly in, and a hike would be roughly 150 miles of dangerous terrain that no one had ever hiked through before. This book chronicles the plight of the three survivors, two men and one woman, along with those who risked their lives to get them out. It is also the story of how the natives came to meet the outside world for the first time. These people didn’t know what a radio was. They didn’t even know what a wheel was. They had their own way of life, and had been living it for thousands of years before a plane crash changed everything for them.

What an experience. I can’t imagine what this must have been like for those who survived the crash and for those natives who believed these white people who fell from the sky were spirits. But though Zuckoff’s book, I was able to get a glimpse of things, to see how they surivived, and to see the amazing rescue effort that almost didn’t happen on many occassions. This was a fantastic read and one I would highly recommend to anyone interested in flying or surviving in the jungle. Once I got into this book, I couldn’t put it down!

As a history buff, this book had me from the beginning. Wonderful, well written story of an actual event in WWII history. Started reading 3 hours ago, I'm over a third thought it. It will be a late night reading.

Towards the end of the Second World War the thrill of a sightseeing trip over the jungles of Dutch New Guinea turns into an incredible story of survival. How to rescue the 24 American servicemen and women who crashed in a remote area surrounded by enemy Japanese troops and headhunting native tribes that have never seen a white person. Taken from interviews, army documents, personal photos, diaries, rescuers’ journals and original film footage, this book tells the amazing rescue story of these brave people.

KatSu
Sep 02, 2012

I enjoyed this a lot, there was a lot of interesting information, but it was well written and only slowed down in a couple spots, all in all it was a very good read